So you're saying she didn't actually interview him in fall 1996 (just after his son died)?

hell fucking no !! that was her reworking of the oprah interview...

She actually did intertview him. At Paisley, I know - she helped me out with a wealth of information for my college thesis back in 1998. Yes a lot of material was collated too - but what's seemingly being overlooked here is that there had been nothing like that book for many years - she brought it all to one place and presented it in a factual, readable manner all in one place. In my eyes, she certainly doesn't deserve the pasting she's getting here for doing so, I enjoyed it.

She actually did intertview him. At Paisley, I know - she helped me out with a wealth of information for my college thesis back in 1998. Yes a lot of material was collated too - but what's seemingly being overlooked here is that there had been nothing like that book for many years - she brought it all to one place and presented it in a factual, readable manner all in one place. In my eyes, she certainly doesn't deserve the pasting she's getting here for doing so, I enjoyed it.

I'm not going to speak for the person who didn't like Liz Jones' "Purple Reign", but just from the stand point that 80% of the book was articles written by other people the she pulled together ...I think it sucked. If you were an avid fan you had already read all that stuff. And moreover, some of the quotes were all twisted so you couldn't tell who said what and when.

Well, I'm not gonna speak for anyone else either, but personally, I'd much rather have all that information to hand in one book than spend my time having to hunt it down. At the time, it was helpful to have to hand. Times change, wotchu gonna do y'know?

I'm not going to speak for the person who didn't like Liz Jones' "Purple Reign", but just from the stand point that 80% of the book was articles written by other people the she pulled together ...I think it sucked. If you were an avid fan you had already read all that stuff. And moreover, some of the quotes were all twisted so you couldn't tell who said what and when.

I've been EXTREMELY hesitant to get this book because of all of the things I've heard about it and that it seems to be quite bias towards Prince but after reading the Alan Leeds thread, I've finally decided to swallow my pride and if I'm feeling up to it (i'm sick right now), I'll make a trip to Barnes & Noble and see if they have the book. I think I'm ready to read it.
[Edited 12/26/05 20:48pm]
[Edited 12/26/05 20:48pm]

One last thought...

I have been on the Org for about six years now or 3 years before the new Org. Back in those days the attitude here focused on the music and it was a home for the sophisticated Prince fan.Outside of a few members. the discussions here were primarily focused of the music and there was a realistic view toward the "private" Prince. I am a 20+ year fan of the music . I don't care why he joined the Jehovah's Witnesses or who he is screwing because that is not my business. I do care about the quality of the music and the situation at the NPGMC and if another fan did not get his Crystal Ball set because that affects me and my $$$. Books like Per Nilsen's should stay at the top of the Prince literature collections.

People who idolize Prince need to wake up.He is a man and all men have shortcomings. If you could talk to Prince he would probably tell you this. He has sung about his shortcomings for years now. I saw Prince about 15 years ago when I was still a teenager . What did I do ??? I said "What's up ?"

He responded... "What's up?"

The man's human .

I enjoyed the book because it talked about some stuff I wanted to hear....some dirt.

Per Nilsson's "DanceMusicSexRomance" is better but the problem is it only covers the first 10 years of Prince's career.

It's not so much that Alex Hahn's book is written from a overly negative point of view (it is but unless you are new to Prince you know a good bit of this info anyway) it's that he beats a dead horse with respect to Wendy & Lisa/The Revolution. Long after the group had disbanded he tends to harp on the topic.For example in the middle of a chapter on let's say ...the Lovesexy tour...there pops up a comment about W&L/The Revolution that has nothing to do with the topic at hand. And it goes on like that for a good portion of the book. It's like every five paragraphs he plops some reference to W&L/The Revolution into the discussion where it's totally irrelevant.

If I recall there was a quote arritbuted to Matt Fink that after the book came out Matt addressed and said he never made.

My issue with the book is that I've found some info that is just blantantly wrong. Some of it's minor but still it's stuff that had no reason to be wrong.

But I immediately knew to take Mr. Hahn's opinion and commentary with a grain of salt after he said r&B singer Teena Marie had a "chirpy" singing voice but later on went on to describe Susannah Melvoin as a "skilled vocalist". I literally laughed out loud at that.

I think housequake would be more suitable for you.

Well the thing is.. had any part of the book been anything but unsupported fact about Prince's legendary shady business practices... his lawyers would have nailed Hahn.

I laughed too after i read this one. that is alex's opinion but and let me tell u that teena marie's singing blow susannah' away. susannah is just an average singer to me but her voice is weak and less soulful compared to teena marie's.
[Edited 12/26/05 17:54pm]

Hey, you may be a Teena fan but don't knock Susannah. I've seen her a few times sing solo live and don't be so sure of that comment because Susannah holds her own.

I just did. I think Susannah's singing isnt all that and I wasn't mood by it, and yes I heard her sing before live and in the studio. BUt Teena marie now that is the soul sista who has a very powerful and soulful voice. Susannah's voice maybe suitable for a rock or a pop song but an R&B record hell no. If Susannah's voice so all that how come she doesnt have an album yet? Teena Marie is not only well-known but has many albums to back her up. And Teena Marie didnt have it easy either when she first starting out.